The Greatest Power
by Nalyx
Summary: After the death of his mother Roxas loses all his faith and love in magic, but a certain redhead is about to awaken dormant memories and bring those feelings back to life. RE-WRITE OF FIRE. Warning: Yaoi, depressing shit and a completely different plot. AkuRoku, Possible Zemyx and others.


"Do you believe in magic Roxas?" The blond child looked up from his lego blocks and stared at his mother, his eyes wide with curiosity and confusion as he waited for his mother to continue, "Do you know that it exists?"

The blond shook his head slowly, setting the legos down and twisting his legs into a pretzel position. The mother now had the seven year olds attention and smiled softly at him as she picked up the story book hidden behind her and gingerly stroked the cover of it, her eyes closing as if she were recalling all the memories she had that tied with the book.

It was a shock to her that the boy had no knowledge of the creatures or the magic that was held in the land of Ireland. It was interesting to her that he had not learned such things from her parents, who loved telling the stories of old, or even from the teachers at school, but all of that was to be fixed with this story. The story that she had loved and heard so many times as a little girl and continued to love and believe in them even at the age of 35.

She opened her eyes once more, disconnecting herself from the world of memories, and opened the book, "It's time you learned of the magic in this world. It's all around us. It's inside us and inside creatures and it's one of the most powerful things in the world."

The blond boy crawled over to his mother and carefully climbed into her lap, his head lying on her chest as he waited for her to bring him into the world of books with nothing but her voice. With a smile the mother ran her fingers through the small boy's hair and began the story.

_"Long ago there were six kings, each containing a special ability that protected the land from the darkness. The kingdoms were all friends and happily protected each other in their times of needs, but the times of peace were soon gone when the king, who had the power to control the darkness, died suddenly. His son, Xehanort, took the thrown and sent the world into chaos, for he was jealous of all the other Kings powers and let his greed consume him._

_ "'I will be the ruler of this whole land!' Xehanort had said, but as the words had left his mouth the king of light, Ventus, stood before him and with a calm voice he simply replied, 'This land can never belong to the greedy and the ones who have darkness filling their hearts to the brim.' This angered Xehanort and caused him to attack Ventus with a strike of his mighty sword!"_

Roxas gasped and looked up at his mother, "Was he okay!? What happened next!?" His eyes shifted back to the story book before them and he squinted at the words, trying to read them, but finding it a bit difficult.

"Relax sweetheart." She rubbed his back gently and flipped the page quickly, eager to relieve her son of any anxiety or worry. She cleared her throat and continued, "_But just when the sword was about to hit The King of Light another sword had intercepted the attack and caused Xehanort to withdraw from his new enemies. He looked around the room and there, standing in his audience room, were the five other kings. The Kings of water, fire, ice and time had all come to help The King of Light!_

_ "'You're reign of terror has ended Xehanort!' Shouted The King of Fire, Ventus' best friend. With a maniacal laugh, Xehanort drew his sword once more and shouted, 'Oh no! It has only begun!' With a charge from Xehanort, the six were thrown into a battle of good and evil._

_ "Towards the end of the battle, the good kings found themselves exhausted, wounded and losing the battle for their kingdoms, but there was one king that still stood tall and proud despite his fatal injuries. The King of Light looked upon his comrades and said with such power in his voice 'This is a battle we cannot lose! My friends I ask as a king, as a person, as a friend, that you lend me your power so we may defeat this fiend!'_

_ "The kings all nodded and slowly made their way to Ventus. The King of Light looked at them and smiled softly 'Thank you my friends. Now I leave the rest up to you.' They all looked at him with confusion painted on their faces and before they knew it Ventus had run towards the evil king and grasped him tightly, wounding himself on Xehanort's sword as he did. 'Now! Destroy him now my friends!' Ventus shouted, 'Before I lose the rest of my strength!'_

_ "With tears in their eyes they all lifted their hands and shot the evil king with all the power they had left. They watched as Xehanort screamed in agony and suddenly stopped, for he had been encased in a shell of magic and would no longer roam the Earth, but their moment of victory and happiness was cut short when they found that their dearest friend laid there on the ground, his time slipping away._

_ "Lea, The King of Fire, ran over to Ventus and held him gently as he begged him not to leave. 'Do not be sad. You have defeated the evil and saved these lands. Please smile my friend,' Ventus had said with the brightest of smiles on his face, 'And always remember that the greatest of magic will always lie in the depths of your heart. The parts of your heart that holds love and happiness.' Lea did nothing but laugh at his friend, his arms holding him tighter and finally, when he had the strength to speak again, he said nothing but gently whisper goodbye to him._

_ "The King of Light had passed on, but his message would live on forever. For he was right about the greatest magic being in your heart; it was the heart that would always make people believe and gain the strength to do what was right."_

She closed the book and found herself frowning as she gazed at the crying boy, "What's wrong Roxas?"

The sniffling boy wiped his eyes and looked up at her, "It wasn't fair. The King of Light didn't deserve to die! Why did he have to!?"

"Oh deary...it's never fair for anyone to die, but The King of Light did it for his friends and kingdom. He wanted them to be happy and live on, but he knew that they couldn't do that if Xehanort had lived. So he sacrificed himself so they could be happy," she explained, gently petting the boy and winding her arms around him tightly.

"It's still not fair!" He pouted and buried his face in his mothers' chest, letting the sobs and cries escape him finally.

"I know sweety, I know, but there's something you can do so his death wasn't in vain." The tiny boy pulled away from his mothers' chest and looked up at her with curiosity, "Believe in magic and believe in courage and love. Those are the things this story is supposed to teach because even when darkness is all around you, there will always be a light within that darkness. Do you understand?"

Roxas nodded slowly, resuming his previous snuggling position and wiping the tears away once more. With a sniffle he blew into the tissue his mother had offered him and finally managed to calm down.

"Alright now. It's time for bed. Go upstairs and get ready okay?" She gently let go of the boy and watched him as he climbed off her lap and ran up the stairs. Clutching the book she rose from her chair and looked at the only light lamp in the room. Her lips curved into a soft smile and with the snap of her fingers the room was clouded with darkness.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Roxas was violently woken from the world of dreams by the terrible screech of the alarm clock. Groaning he slammed his hand down on the snooze button and rolled himself up with the blankets. He hated mornings like this and especially hated it when he had dreams of the past.

It had been years since he had lived in Ireland with his mother and it had only been months since he had lost his mother to disease. Having dreams of her sweet voice telling him the stories of magic only rubbed salt in the wounds, for he missed her terribly so and since her death his love and faith in magic had died with her.

"Roxas! It's time to get up!" He whimpered at his step-mother's screechy voice. She was anything but kind and affectionate and the fact that his father had re-married only months after his mother's death produced nothing but hatred towards the lecherous man.

"I'm getting up! God!" Scrambling out of the burrito blanket he had made, Roxas dragged himself out of bed and once again he reluctantly did his morning routine of showering, brushing his teeth and dressing.

The days he had dreams of his childhood were the worst for him and he often wished that he could go back to sleep and never wake up; so he didn't have to deal with his step-mother, Larxene, or his backstabbing, cheating, good for nothing father, but then he would remember his friends that had been there for him since day one of moving here and quickly those thoughts vanished.

He stood before the door and took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for the day and for the so called 'family' that was waiting for him downstairs for breakfast. Slowly he opened the door and was disgusted at the face his eyes had, for some terrible reason, looked at. There stood Larxene waiting and looking as bored as ever as she filed her nails.

"What took you so damn long?" She spat, her piercing green eyes staring straight at Roxas.

"Oh you know the usual stuff. Good hygiene and not being nude. Is that okay with you step-mother?" Roxas hissed, roughly shoving his shoulder into her and walking away from the monster as fast he could.

Most people would find calling someone a monster a bit drastic, but most people haven't lived or even met Larxene and to Roxas, She was way scarier than the monsters in any storybook or the ones that hid underneath your bed. He had one time seen her viciously beat his older brother Sora for doing nothing but protecting him from her strike. If there was one thing he could never forgive it was hurting his family and Larxene had done that multiple times.

Somehow escaping Larxene's rage, Roxas managed to make his way to the breakfast table, but found himself just staring at the food after realizing he had absolutely no appetite.

"You should eat...you're getting pretty skinny Rox," Sora said, after gently touching his shoulder and making his presence known. Roxas always liked that about Sora and appreciated that the brunette knew that he didn't like to be surprised.

He turned his head towards his older brother and gave him a small smile, "I'll be okay. I'll eat during lunch at school."

Although he tried to make the words seem as genuine as possible, Roxas knew by the look on Sora's face that he had not convinced him and watched as the brunette's curved into a frown. He hated lying to his brother for that very reason, but he couldn't exactly stop himself from lying. Although he hated doing it, he knew that telling the truth would get him nothing but Sora trying to force feed him and he definitely didn't want that to happen.

"...Fine. Do what you want," Sora replied. The words felt like icicles striking his body and he found himself not being able to bear the look of disappointment on his brother's face.

Without another word he rose from his chair, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. The cold air of September struck him the minute he stepped out of his house and for a moment he was completely peaceful. Fall was by far his favorite season and he would always find some excuse to go outside during this time, even if the winds were severe.

"Ooh Roxassss!"

Smiling, he turned around and found his best friend staring at him, his hands rubbing together viciously in an effort to warm them. Unfortunately for Roxas, Demyx did not like the fall and would do everything in his power to avoid the cold and that usually meant that they would stay inside playing video games on really cold days like these.

"Hey Dem, here lemme help you." Yanking off his gloves, Roxas offered them to his cold friend and nodded when the mulleted boy thanked him. This had become a routine that they did on their walks to school since Demyx didn't have the most financially stable family and couldn't even afford to eat some days.

"So! Video games at your house after school today?" The bubbly sandy blond asked, his hands now warmed as well as his attitude.

"Sure, why not? But can we get to school first before making plans for what to do after it?" Roxas asked, a small smirk forming on his lips.

"Pssh, fine. You're always so damn bland in the mornings." He gave the gloomy blond a soft punch to the arm and started their walk to school.

"Wouldn't you be if you had a family like mine?" Roxas asked, his eyes glued to the ground, studying his feet as he walked. It had become habit after his mother had died; it was almost as if he literally couldn't lift his head anymore. As if there was an invisible weight on his shoulders.

"...Okay you've made your point." The sandy blond gently clasped Roxas' hand and yanked it gently, signaling for him to stop walking, "Hey...are you doing okay?"

Keeping his gaze on his feet Roxas replied, "...I'm doing alright I guess."

"Ya know...our family doesn't have a lot of money, but if you need a day away from that place you can sleep over. You know that right?"

He finally tore his gaze away from the ground and looked up at his friend, regretting it immediately once he laid eyes on Demyx's worried face, "...Yeah I know that Dem. Come on let's just get to school."

There was nothing but silence between the two after that, but Demyx never let go of the blond's hand the whole way there. After a while Roxas wasn't sure who was holding whose hand anymore and he didn't bother questioning why it felt so comforting. The only conclusion he could come to was that it felt like someone was there for him and they wouldn't let him go and let him slip back into his depression. Demyx always did an excellent job of doing just that.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Roxas Eat."

It was a command, not a request and it was a command that Roxas couldn't deny, not when it came to Demyx. Soon after the words had reached his ears he had begun picking at the bland cafeteria food that he had purchase, but had no intention of eating until now.

"...Do I have to?" The blond mumbled, stabbing the macaroni and cheese with his fork over and over again. It looked absolutely disgusting.

"Yes you do. You're getting way too skinny. Before you know it you're going to be carried away by the wind," Demyx replied, shoveling the food into his mouth.

The thought of being carried away by the wind sounded amazing to Roxas. He loved the wind and always felt a sense of freedom and peace with it, but of course he knew that if he actually did get carried away by it then it was most likely a tornado and he was going to die.

Groaning he finally dumped a forkful of the disgusting looking macaroni and cheese into his mouth. To his surprise it wasn't that bad, but it was still nasty looking. He rolled his eyes at the mock round of applause from Demyx and gave the carefree blond a punch to his arm.

"Oh! Geez! Someone's cranky," Demyx stated, rubbing his arm and giving Roxas a look of mocked hurt.

"I'm not cranky." He pouted and went to continue eating his food until he caught a glimpse of wild red. A red so vibrant that he had actually dropped his fork in surprise and was mindlessly staring at the teen across from him.

"Oh hey! Roxas this is Axel! I invited him to eat lunch with us since he's new and stuff," Demyx explained as he gestured excitedly, his food long forgotten, "He's from Germany! Isn't that cool!?"

"...That explains the hair color," He mumbled, his eyes casting down to his food.  
"Huh...I didn't know anyone else knew that," Axel said. The voice took the blond by surprise; he didn't know why but he expected it to be harsh, but what came out was smooth and velvety. It was a little entrancing.

"What? But I thought redheads came from Ireland," Demyx asked, scratching his head as if his brain were itching from the confusion.

"Well they kind of do. It's not that vibrant though. The Irish mostly have a kind of ginger hair color," The blond replied, repeatedly stabbing his food again as his cheeks burned. For some reason he always ended up blushing when he was explaining something that someone else didn't know. It was almost as if he were embarrassed by his own intellect.

"Someone's done their homework," Axel stated with a smirk. The blond slowly looked up at him with his eyes.

"Um no. I'm from Ireland, but never mind that. Why don't you have a German accent?"

"Oh. Well I'm from Germany, but I was sent to America around the age of thirteen. So I don't really have the accent anymore."

The blond nodded in understanding and looked down at the table. He never realized before how many immature people drew penises on the tables until now. He'd rather not be looking at these stupid things, but it was better than looking up at the amazingly gorgeous, German, redhead that he could've sworn was staring at him.

"Well...this is awkward," Demyx simply stated, his eyes studying his pudding cup, "Does this look moldy to you?"

He shoved the cup in Axel's face, expecting the redhead to look at it with disgust, but instead Axel simply took the pudding cup and ate a spoonful of it.

"Mmm...nope. Takes fine to me." Demyx unfortunately never got his pudding cup back.


End file.
